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Gadget

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

In
December 2009, people around the world downloaded a game to their
phones and started a phenomenon. Little green piggies had invaded,
intent on stealing the eggs of some flightless birds – and these
birds were… well, there’s only one word for it. How would you
feel if someone came to your home and took your kids?

The
most downloaded mobile game of all time – Angry Birds and their
various editions have been downloaded over three billion times –
comes to the big screen with Columbia Pictures' “The Angry Birds
Movie” and moviegoers will finally learn how the birds got their
name.

According
to producer John Cohen (“Despicable Me”), the classic game was a
great starting point for the movie the filmmakers wanted to make.
“Inside the game’s core concept were the seeds of what we
believed could grow into a fantastic animated comedy,” he says. “We
had the chance to expand on the game characters, developing the birds
into fully fleshed out characters with distinct personalities and
fun, unique powers. But there’s also a strong, emotional idea at
the center of the movie: at the heart of the games is a story of
angry birds who have had their eggs – their children – taken by
these green piggies. And the birds must launch a search-and-rescue
operation to get their kids back.”

Working
with the Rovio team, the filmmakers developed and expanded the basic
ideas from the game. “The question Rovio gets asked more often than
anything else is, ‘Why are the birds so angry?’” says Cohen.
“This movie is the origin story of how that conflict came to exist
between flightless birds and green piggies. It was an incredibly fun
opportunity to create a mythology for the Angry Birds universe.
Billions of people have a close personal connection to the games, but
the games didn’t really have a backstory that was set in stone. Our
playing field was wide open – as if we were starting from scratch
with an original idea. Of course, there were certain important
elements that fans know and love from the games – angry flightless
birds, with special powers that people will recognize, fighting green
piggies, who have stolen their eggs, using a slingshot – but beyond
those ideas, we were able to create an original story.”

In
fact, Clay Kaytis, who directs the film with Fergal Reilly, says that
the built-in audience of the game allowed them to subtly subvert
audiences’ expectations. “People assume they know what the movie
is going to be because they’ve played the game,” he says, “but
the truth is, we’re creating something that is going to surprise
people when they see it. As filmmakers, we’re making a movie that
we would want to go see.”

So,
out of the basic premise of the game, the filmmakers created a new
story – a character-based comedy. “Red is certainly an angry
bird, and Chuck and Bomb have their problems, but actually, they’re
just a bunch of misfits,” says Reilly. “You really care about
these guys – because not only do they have their own problems to
deal with, but then they’re dealt the larger problem of the pigs.
They have to save their civilization, even though they’re the most
unlikely guys you could ever pick.”

Cohen
adds that Red’s mission to manage his anger is a theme that
everyone in the audience can relate to. “Every parent and every kid
learns to find a way to work through those tough moments in their
lives,” says Cohen. “I think a lot of kids will identify with Red
as he finds a way to channel that energy in a positive direction.”

“The
Angry Birds Movie” takes us to an island populated entirely by
happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red
(Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh
Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been
outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green
piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the
pigs are up to.

Featuring
a hilarious, all-star voice cast that includes Bill Hader, Maya
Rudolph and Peter Dinklage, as well as Keegan-Michael Key, Kate
McKinnon, Tony Hale, Ike Barinholtz, Hannibal Buress, Jillian Bell,
Danielle Brooks, Latin music sensation Romeo Santos, and YouTube
stars Smosh (Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla), the Columbia
Pictures/Rovio Entertainment film is directed by Fergal Reilly and
Clay Kaytis, produced by John Cohen and Catherine Winder, screenplay
by Jon Vitti, and executive produced by Mikael Hed and David Maisel.

Opening
across the Philippines on May 11, 2016, “Angry Birds” is
distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures
Releasing International.